Fine social media sites that fail to protect children, Labour says February 6, 2019 Social media companies could face hefty fines if they fail to protect children and young people on their platforms under strict new rules proposed by Labour. The party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, will today give a speech saying the digital market has been “distorted” and outlining plans to ensure sites have a legal duty of [...]
DEBATE: Could the internet of things be the answer to the social care crisis? February 6, 2019 Could the internet of things be the answer to the social care crisis? Emanuele Angelidis, chief executive of IoT investor Breed Reply, says YES. With more and more people forced to look after loved ones, the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) can help alleviate the social care issues raised by an ageing population. For a [...]
What’s the point of economists? Look to America’s tech giants to find out February 6, 2019 Despite the dire predictions from the economics profession about Brexit, the UK economy is doing well. Growth continues at a steady pace. An all-time record 32.4m people are in work. Unemployment has fallen to levels not seen since the mid-1970s. In contrast, the Eurozone is on the brink of recession – and Italy is already [...]
Food waste startup Too Good To Go gobbles up €6m from investors February 5, 2019 Danish leftover food startup Too Good To Go has grabbed €6m (£5.3m) from some of its existing investors, as it prepares to expand into four new countries in 2019. The firm, which enables users to collect leftover dishes from restaurants and stores at discounted prices, has partnered with 1,500 retailers in London to date, including [...]
Apple turnover: Former Burberry chief to leave executive role at iPhone maker February 5, 2019 Former Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts is to leave her role as Apple's head of retail in April, after five years at the company. Having led Apple's retail and online stores, Ahrendts will now be chasing “new personal and professional pursuits”. It was revealed last month that Ahrendts received a total pay packet of $5m (£3.9m) from Apple in [...]
Snap shares soar as it reports minimal quarterly losses and beats revenue estimates February 5, 2019 Shares in Snap jumped more than 20 per cent in after-hours trading tonight, as it trounced consensus estimates on revenue and quarterly losses. Revenue in the three months to 31 December increased 36 per cent to $389.8m (£300.9m), beating the average analyst estimate of $379.4m as collated by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company's net loss fell [...]
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance considering self-driving tie-up with Google’s Waymo February 5, 2019 A trio of major vehicle manufacturers is said to be in advanced talks with Google's autonomous driving unit Waymo on utilising the division's tech for transport services. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is exploring a tie-up with Waymo in which the two parties would develop self-driving taxis as well as other mobility-as-a-service infrastructure, the Nikkei reported today. The [...]
Unilever swallows healthy food startup Graze February 5, 2019 Retail giant Unilever has agreed a deal to buy UK healthy snacks firm Graze at a reported valuation of £150m. Founded in 2008, the brand had raised just £2m from London investors Octopus Ventures and Draper Esprit before being acquired by US buyout group Carlyle in 2012. The bidding war for Graze had garnered interest from [...]
Sir Nick Clegg summoned in front of MPs over social media abuse February 5, 2019 Sir Nick Clegg has been asked to appear in front of a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the harassment of MPs on social media. The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has written to Clegg, who is head of global affairs and communications at Facebook, asking him to give evidence as part of its inquiry [...]
Apple reclaims its title as the world’s most valuable public company February 5, 2019 Apple has taken back its crown at the top of the tech heap, becoming the world's most valuable public company for a second time after losing the title last year. Boosted by a small 1.7 per cent share price rise as markets opened this afternoon, Apple's market capitalisation rose to $820.8bn (£633.1bn), up from hitting [...]